Openness as an Aesthetic

Openness is an aesthetic and an approach to seeingand interacting with the world and others.

I think a lot about openness …

… as an aesthetic …

… that provides a rich and fertile environment …

… for meaningful teaching and learning.

The type of openness that I’m thinking about implies a significant departure from generally accepted educational practice and quality judgments.

It requires new habits of mind and practice that expand the walls of our cultural and societal concepts about the very nature of learning and knowledge.

An open aesthetic allows one to look anew at the world and at one’s place in it, with an eye to discover creative approaches and relationships from which to build sustainable solutions of mutual benefit.

Open educational practice embraces a fundamental philosophy that elevates teacher and learner as partners and co-creators. Open educators invite essential questions, critical thinking and student engagement in deeper learning. Open learners can consider diverse perspectives, understand the role of multiple disciplines in solving complex problems, and engage in civic dialogue.

Interesting ideas but a bit murky to me. I would live to get more concrete definitions of “types of openness”, creative approaches (how and specifically what kinds of learning), what is meant by ‘Mind Habits’ etc….These clarifications would help build a shared vocabulary platform from which to discuss Openness as an Aesthetic.

The murkiness leads to intrigue and wondering, a slight hungering for more…anticipation for what’s coming. What is commented on as murky, I see as leading in. An “openness …” if you will, and I will! This blog is my new favorite! Onward Letha!

Openness. Openness? In a world full of lunatics, sanctimonious know-it-alls and pompous pricks on high horses? Openness? You mean like the tattered man standing on the soapbox in the middle of the Haight, screaming about love and dreams and judgement day? Not openness like that-unsettling truth interspersed with delusion. no. But… If I stand up and raise my voice to the masses, am I any different than the man on the soapbox? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It’s all a matter of perspective.

The openness I’m thinking about doesn’t usually involve screaming from soapboxes – about love or anything else. And, I doubt it would claim to know truth in the midst of what is perceived as delusional. In fact, that could quickly become the antithesis of what I’m thinking about. Yes, it’s all a matter of perspective. Thanks for hopping by and sharing thoughts.